Common Grasshopper Warbler

Locustella naevia

Information

The song of the Common Grasshopper Warbler, a monotonous, mechanical whirring reel, which is mostly heard at dusk, may easily be mistaken for the chirping of a cricket or a grasshopper. The male sings in such a way that it is difficult to spot. If the Common Grasshopper Warbler is flushed, it quickly skulks in dense vegetation moving like a mouse. If it does fly, it only flies a short distance close above ground in order to disappear in the vegetation again.

Voice

Status (in CH)

regular, scarce breeder and migrant

Annual cycle

The bar on the top line indicates during which seasons the species can be observed regularly in Switzerland. There can be great seasonal fluctuations of numbers. The middle bar indicates the typical migration seasons of a species. The bottom bar indicates the period during which the species normally breeds. As a rule it spans the period from egg-laying to fledging of the young.